Sourdough Hybrid Sandwich Bread

I found myself feeding Ben & Jerry quite often these days . For those of you wonder about Ben & Jerry , they’re not the ice cream maker , they’re my sourdough starter .

So , ever since i started staying at home almost 4 weeks ago , I feed them regularly and more often , in attempt to use less yeast ( admit it , I still love using commercial yeast , it’s easy , quick n yield a good bread still ) and to get more discard to use it to make garlic parmesan crackers which is super addictive !! I’ll save that for another entry.

I haven’t been buying store bought bread for a long while actually . If I do it’s because we really got busy and had no time due to running around taking my son to school and other activities . Obviously that’s not the case these days ..

While everyone is busy creating starter and learning to make sourdough to provide bread for their family’s needs , I’m thankful I already knew how to bake bread or even sourdough bread for several years by now . Bread baking is my hobby , it’s magical and fun and nothing beats the smell of fresh bread !

I normally bake this once a week , I rotate between sourdough hybrid , with Hokkaido milk bread or whole wheat bread from Peter Reinhart recipe . This particular hybrid was just something I tried to put together a while ago . I fed the starter early in the morning to bake in the afternoon . I would feed my starter at 100% hydration . Make sure they doubled within 4-6 hours before using it . Yes you use them all in the dough .

Ingredients :

• 50 grams starter fed with 50 grams equal water and flour . Make sure it is super active before being used. ( The night before I’d take out 25 grams starter n feed it equal water and flour . Then in the early morning I would feed it again , they should triple within few hours . I’m constantly experimenting which would deliver the best texture and flavor . So far this is the best ! Resulting soft , spongy bread )
• 1/2 cup of warm almond milk unsweetened or skim milk or low fat milk , your best bet is with 1% milk
• 3 T melted slightly cooled butter , unsalted
• 3 T sugar or honey
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 350 to 380 grams all purpose flour ( I’d start at 350 adjust if it’s too wet , i get the best result with bleached flour )

Directions :

• In the morning on the day you want to bake , take 50 grams starter n feed with 50 grams water and flour . Let it bubbles . After few hours they should be ready to be used. Place this into mixing bowl .
• Add the rest of ingredients .
• Using dough hook start on low speed , mix the dough .
• Turn speed to the next speed , let it knead until window pane reach . Sometimes you might need more flour , if the dough is too wet , add more flour . It should clean the side if the bowl and still feels kinda tacky .
• Knead until window pane stage reached . About 8 minutes .
• Take it out , shape it into a ball . Place in a lightly buttered bowl . Seam side down . Covered .Let it rise for few hours . It took about 2-3 hours for me . Be aware it might be faster or longer depending on your temperature indoor . It loves 75 F , it was fast bulking and proofing !